Money in the Bank (2017)
Money in the Bank (2017) was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event and WWE Network event produced by WWE for the SmackDown brand. It took place on June 18, 2017, at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri. It was the eighth event under the Money in the Bank chronology and the first to feature a Women's Money in the Bank ladder match. Production Background WWE's Money in the Bank pay-per-view event centers around a match of the same name, in which multiple male wrestlers use ladders to retrieve a briefcase hanging above the ring. The winner is guaranteed a match for a world championship at a time of their choosing within the next year; the 2017 match is specifically for a WWE Championship match since the 2017 event is a SmackDown branded pay-per-view. For the first time in the event's history, the 2017 event will feature a Women's Money in the Bank ladder match guaranteeing a SmackDown Women's Championship match. Storylines The card will include matches that resulted from scripted storylines and had results predetermined by WWE on the SmackDown brand. Storylines were produced on WWE's weekly television show SmackDown Live. At Backlash, Jinder Mahal defeated Randy Orton to win his first WWE Championship with help from The Singh Brothers (Samir and Sunil Singh). On the following episode of SmackDown, Mahal held a Punjabi style celebration, while Commissioner Shane McMahon announced that Orton invoked his championship rematch for Money in the Bank. The following week, Orton declared that he would become a fourteen-time world champion in his hometown at Money in the Bank before he was interrupted by Mahal on the TitanTron. The following week, after Mahal defeated Mojo Rawley, he taunted Orton, who later responded that he had received supportive phone calls from Ric Flair, Harley Race, and his father "Cowboy" Bob Orton. On the final SmackDown before Money in the Bank, Mahal with The Singh Brothers came out and berated Orton. As Orton's music played, The Singh Brothers went to the ramp to cut him off, but Orton snuck up from behind Mahal and hit an RKO before retreating into the crowd. On the May 23 episode of SmackDown, Commissioner Shane McMahon introduced AJ Styles, Shinsuke Nakamura, Dolph Ziggler, Sami Zayn, and Baron Corbin as the 2017 participants of the titular Money in the Bank ladder match. United States Champion Kevin Owens argued that he deserved to be in the match since he retained his title against Styles at Backlash. Shane agreed and added Owens to the match. Zayn then defeated Corbin in a rematch from Backlash, while Styles and Nakamura teamed up and defeated Owens and Ziggler. The following week, Owens and Corbin attacked Nakamura, who had been a guest on Owens' Highlight Reel segment, until Zayn came to the rescue. In the resulting tag team match, Nakamura and Zayn defeated Owens and Corbin. Later in the show, Ziggler defeated Styles, but lost a rematch a week later. On the same show, Corbin first attacked Zayn backstage and later assaulted Nakamura, who had just won a match against Owens. Mojo Rawley also had the opportunity to be added to the ladder match if he could defeat former rival and WWE Champion Jinder Mahal, but failed to do so. On the final SmackDown before Money in the Bank, Styles, Nakamura, and Zayn teamed up and defeated Owens, Ziggler, and Corbin. After the match, a brawl broke out between all six men that ended with Nakamura standing tall atop the ladder with the Money in the Bank briefcase. At Backlash, The Welcoming Committee (Natalya, Carmella, and Tamina) defeated the team of Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, and SmackDown Women's Champion Naomi in a six-woman tag team match. On the following episode of SmackDown, Natalya asked Commissioner Shane McMahon for a SmackDown Women's Championship match, followed by Carmella, Charlotte, Tamina, and Becky, who each demanded title opportunities as well. A fatal-five-way elimination match, scheduled for the following week to decide who would face Naomi at Money in the Bank, ended before it could begin when all five attacked each other before the match. Shane then scheduled the first-ever Women's Money in the Bank ladder match between the five, with the winner receiving a contract for a SmackDown Women's Championship match. The following week, Lana made her first appearance since moving to the brand during the Superstar Shake-up and demanded to be added to the ladder match. Commissioner Shane McMahon refused her, saying that she would have to earn her opportunity. Lana then turned her attention to the champion and said she could beat her, but Shane again denied her and reiterated what he had previously said. Later that night, Naomi, Becky, and Charlotte faced Natalya, Carmella, and Tamina in a rematch from Backlash. Lana interfered in the match, causing Naomi to be pinned by Tamina. After this, Naomi demanded a match against Lana and offered to defend her title, and Shane made the match official for Money in the Bank. The following week, after Naomi defeated Tamina, Lana attacked Naomi and posed with the title belt. At Backlash, The Usos (Jey and Jimmy Uso) retained the SmackDown Tag Team Championship against Breezango (Fandango and Tyler Breeze) and again in a rematch on the following episode of SmackDown. On the May 30 episode, The Usos declared that no team could defeat them. They were then interrupted by The New Day (Big E, Kofi Kingston, and Xavier Woods), making their first appearance on SmackDown since they were moved to the brand during the Superstar Shake-up. A match was then scheduled between the two teams for the titles at Money in the Bank. The following week, after The New Day defeated The Colóns (Primo and Epico), The Usos came out and taunted them, calling The New Day old news. The New Day and Breezango then teamed up and defeated The Usos and The Colóns on the final SmackDown before Money in the Bank. On the December 13, 2016, episode of SmackDown, The Hype Bros (Mojo Rawley and Zack Ryder) won a battle royal to become the number one contenders for the SmackDown Tag Team Championship, but a knee injury sustained during the match took Ryder out for an estimated six to nine months. On the June 13 episode of SmackDown, Ryder appeared backstage and was greeted by Rawley where the two declared that The Hype Bros were back. Afterwards on Talking Smack, the two said that they felt that they should still be the number one contenders for the tag titles since they won that spot, but never got to have their championship match. Three days later, the two were scheduled to face The Colóns (Primo and Epico) on the Money in the Bank pre-show. Event Pre-show During the pre-show, The Hype Bros (Mojo Rawley and Zack Ryder) faced The Colóns (Primo and Epico). Ryder and Rawley executed the Hype Ryder on Epico to win the match. Preliminary matches The actual pay per-view opened with the first-ever Women's Money in the Bank ladder match. In the climax, Becky Lynch attempted to retrieve the briefcase, but Carmella's manager James Ellsworth pushed the ladder over. With Carmella down, Ellsworth retrieved the briefcase for Carmella and dropped it to her, thus Carmella won the match. Two of the three referees did not agree with the decision and General Manager Daniel Bryan said that the controversy would be dealt with on the following episode of SmackDown. Next, The Usos defended the SmackDown Tag Team Championship against The New Day's Big E and Kofi Kingston. In the end, Big E and Kingston performed the Midnight Hour on Jey. Kingston pinned Jey, but Jimmy pulled Jey out of the ring to void the pinfall and the two were intentionally counted out. Thus, The New Day won, but The Usos retained the titles. After that, Naomi defended the SmackDown Women's Championship against Lana in her in-ring televised debut. In the climax, Carmella came out and teased cashing in her Money in the Bank briefcase. Naomi then forced Lana to submit to the Slay-O-Mission to retain the title. Carmella again teased cashing in her briefcase, but decided not to. Afterwards, Maria Kanellis made her return to WWE, her last appearance being in 2010, along with her husband Mike Kanellis, who made his debut appearance for WWE. The two cut a promo about the "power of love" and shared a kiss before departing backstage. Next, Jinder Mahal defended the WWE Championship against Randy Orton. Orton executed an RKO on Mahal, however, Sunil placed Mahal's foot on the rope, voiding the pinfall at a two count. The referee then evicted The Singh Brothers from ringside. Before they left, they attempted to attack WWE Hall of Famer and Orton's father, "Cowboy" Bob Orton, but Orton attacked the two, ending the attack with an RKO outside the ring on Sunil and an RKO through the announce table on Samir. After Orton returned to the ring, Mahal executed the Khallas on Orton to retain the title. After that, Breezango (Fandango and Tyler Breeze) made their entrance to the ring. Earlier backstage, they received a video of two unidentifiable people who claimed credit for attacking Breeze on SmackDown. They told Breezango to come to the ring to find out who they were, which was revealed to be The Ascension (Konnor and Viktor). Breezango won the impromptu match after Fandango pinned Viktor with a small package. Main event The main event was the Money in the Bank ladder match between Baron Corbin, United States Champion Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, AJ Styles, Shinsuke Nakamura, and Dolph Ziggler. As Nakamura made his entrance, Corbin attacked him with a ladder, taking Nakamura out for a majority of the match. In the end, after Nakamura returned, he and Styles fought atop the ladder. Corbin pushed the ladder over and retrieved the briefcase to win the match. Aftermath The finish of the first-ever Women's Money in the Bank ladder match was heavily criticized by fans.http://uproxx.com/prowrestling/best-and-worst-of-money-in-the-bank-2017/ On the post-Money in the Bank episode of SmackDown, Carmella and James Ellsworth addressed the controversy surrounding her becoming the first-ever Ms. Money in the Bank. She said that there were no rules in the match and she cited how some previous winners won with outside help. Natalya, Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, and Tamina each urged General Manager Daniel Bryan to do the right thing. Later in the show, Bryan addressed the five participants in the ring. He said that Carmella had good points, but no one had ever won the match by having someone else retrieve the briefcase for them. He then forced her to relinquish the briefcase and scheduled a second Women's Money in the Bank ladder match between the five for the following week, with Ellsworth banned from ringside. Before the rematch, Bryan decided to ban Ellsworth from the arena. Despite this, Ellsworth returned, but was taken out by Becky. Carmella then attacked Becky and retrieved the briefcase to definitively become Ms. Money in the Bank. SmackDown Women's Champion Naomi said it was a disappointment that Ellsworth won the ladder match for Carmella at Money in the Bank, but she said she was ready for any challenge. Lana interrupted and wanted a rematch. Naomi, citing herself as a fighting champion, agreed to the rematch for the following week, where she quickly defeated Lana again. In a sit-down interview, Randy Orton said that he lost focus when he saw that The Singh Brothers were going to attack his father. He said he was no longer concerned about becoming a fourteen-time world champion, he just wanted to hurt Jinder Mahal. Later in the show after Mahal defeated Luke Harper, Orton came out, attacked The Singh Brothers, and then Mahal, but Mahal managed to escape into the crowd. The following week, Commissioner Shane McMahon granted Orton a rematch for the title at Battleground, but allowed Mahal to choose the stipulation, and he chose a Punjabi Prison match. United States Champion Kevin Owens felt that the other five participants of the Money in the Bank ladder match conspired against him, and that was why he did not win. He then issued a U.S. Championship open challenge to any local competitor. AJ Styles came out to accept the challenge, but Owens denied him since Styles was not from Dayton, Ohio. American Alpha's Chad Gable then answered the challenge, saying that he had moved to Dayton "that morning", but Owens retained in the ensuing match. Also on the show, Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Dolph Ziggler, Baron Corbin teased cashing in his Money in the Bank contract during WWE Champion Jinder Mahal's non-title match against Luke Harper, and General Manager Daniel Bryan, who praised Sami Zayn's efforts in the ladder match, scheduled Zayn to face Corbin the following week, where Corbin won. The New Day addressed how The Usos backed out of their championship match. Big E then defeated Jimmy Uso in a singles match. Also in the tag team division, The Hype Bros convinced General Manager Daniel Bryan to give them an opportunity at the SmackDown Tag Team Championship. Bryan said that if they could defeat The Usos in a non-title match the following week, they would become the number one contenders. The Hype Bros failed to defeat The Usos, after which, The New Day challenged The Usos to another title match at Battleground and they accepted. Results |future = no |match1 = The Hype Bros (Zack Ryder and Mojo Rawley) defeated The Colóns (Primo Colón and Epico Colón) |stip1 = Tag team match |time1 = 8:30 |pre1 = yes |match2 = Carmella (with James Ellsworth) defeated Charlotte Flair, Natalya, Tamina, and Becky Lynch |stip2 = Money in the Bank ladder match for a WWE SmackDown Women's Championship match contract |time2 = 13:20 |match3 = The New Day (Big E and Kofi Kingston) (with Xavier Woods) defeated The Usos (Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso) © by countout |stip3 = Tag team match for the WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship |time3 = 12:00 |match4 = Naomi © defeated Lana by submission |stip4 = Singles match for the WWE SmackDown Women's Championship |time4 = 7:30 |match5 = Jinder Mahal © (with The Singh Brothers) defeated Randy Orton |stip5 = Singles match for the WWE Championship |time5 = 20:50 |match6 = Breezango (Fandango and Tyler Breeze) defeated The Ascension (Konnor and Viktor) |stip6 = Tag team match |time6 = 3:50 |match7 = Baron Corbin defeated AJ Styles, Shinsuke Nakamura, Dolph Ziggler, Sami Zayn, and Kevin Owens |stip7 = Money in the Bank ladder match for a WWE Championship match contract |time7 = 29:45 }} See also * List of WWE Network events * List of WWE pay-per-view events References External links * Category:2017 WWE Network events Category:Money in the Bank Category:Events Category:WWE pay-per-view events Category:Smackdown Events